So earlier this year we had the pleasure of working with The Wild Feathers and Standard Deluxe on a print for The Heartbreaker Banquet at Willie Nelson’s Luck, TX and we absolutely jumped at the chance. I actually had the idea for this poster much earlier and had planned to make it as just an art print, but when we saw the list of bands available for the lineup The Wild Feathers just jumped out us. We hadn’t previously heard of them, but once I gave it a listen I was immediately drawn to it and it seemed to fit the poster concept perfectly. If you haven’t heard of them do yourself a favor and give it a spin. We were super excited about it and the poster came out great. You just can’t go wrong with mason jar’s, feathers & French Madero Beach.

We would like give a special thanks to Aaron Gresham and Scott Peek from Standard Deluxe of Waverly Alabama for the opportunity to work on a great poster for such a cool event. Just check out that awesome merch setup in the photo above. We also feel truly honored to be able to do poster work along side some other really great talents in Dirk Fowler and Methane Studios. You can find their posters and links below.

Thanks again to everyone involved and keep an eye out for the poster in our store real soon! – TRON

I feel like I’ve joined a gang… of teachers. A real intimidating group of nerdy nerds, that know a lot about gang stuff, and fancy design. My initiation: Record over an hour of instructional video featuring my ugly mouth spouting all the nuggets I know about label design. Including useful bits about concepting, design grids, color choices, and setting up your very own label series (there’s even a downloadable beer can template). So help me keep my new gang-friends happy, sign up today and learn your face off. First 50 people to sign up receive a free puppy.* Thank You. *This is a lie. – Kendrick http://skl.sh/1eGTmrS

Finally getting around to posting the apparel work Grease (Kendrick Kidd) did for Modus Bearing Company in 2012. Bearings are often viewed like a commodity in the skateboard industry, no one manufacture standing out from another. Modus however, is making strides to break free from the industry perception by focusing more on the quality of their bearing construction. In 2012 we teamed up and put together an apparel line that reflected their efforts. We had a rad time working with the nice folks over there. Big thanks to Brett for having a clear vision for Modus & trusting us enough to execute it. Hardly seems like work when things go as smoothly as this series did. Hop on over to modusbearings.com and check out the great stuff. – TRON

We couldn’t start the new year off with a better or more exciting post than this one, and man are we stoked about it. After attending The Creative South Conference in Columbus GA last April I was blown away by not only the level of talent speaking at the event but the overall vibe as well. We don’t go to these types of things often so maybe we just aren’t that familiar or maybe because we are from the south and it just felt like home with the southern hospitality but it really was amazing. Having so many talented designers leave the big cities from around the country and come down here to our neck of the woods to talk about design really felt like the best of both worlds. I was on a design high for weeks after the event, and just when we were about to level back out, We got the email from the amazing Mike Jones asking if we wanted to speak this year. Seriously… What? Hell Yeah… is kinda how it went. Do we belong up there with some of these people? Probably not haha, but we are gonna give it our best try! So if you can spin it, come to Columbus and take in an amazing weekend with a whole gang of great people. And most importantly drink some beers with ole Tron & Grease!

We will be presenting our talk on SHIFT WORK // The unofficial guide on making posters, shirts, skateboards, logos, and beer labels while everyone else sleeps…the Real American Dream.

We are speaking at 3:00 pm on Friday, April 11th right along side some seriously talented folks…
So hop on over to CreativeSouthGA.com and get your tix today before it sells out! – Love TRON & Grease

Grease (kendrickkidd) was recently approached by the fine folks over at helpink.org about doing some good design for a good cause, and naturally being the big hearted soft spoken gentlemen that he his, Grease obliged. It’s a win win for everyone really, we get to make something cool, you get to buy it, and a charity gets to benefit from it. Hop on over to www.helpink.org and get one, and if nothing else, at least go get a look at that amazingly bearded photo of the man, the myth, the legend Grease E. Monkey. Hell, we should be charging you just to look at it, but this ones on us… for charities sake. Your welcome. – TRON.

Our Good buddy and fellow MAN OF SIZE, foul language, and gold bond stock holder (North West Coast Brother from another Mother) Aaron Draplin turned the big 40 earlier this week and I whipped up this little icon of his signature look in my best attempt at his thick lines style in the format of his semi-famous line of finely crafted field notes. Here’s to telling 40 to F-OFF and keep on Kicking Ass. TRON & Grease Love Ya Brother! DDC Forever, and FU40. Now get over to Draplin.com and buy some DDC Goods already!

I recently had the opportunity to help out over at REAL Skateboards with a new deck design. I Can’t tell you how much it means to contribute (however small the amount) to an industry that has been a part of my life for so long. Big thanks to Andy & Jim for literally letting me have a crack at it. Looking forward to more rad deck projects in the future and I can’t wait to get my hands on one of these. Skate or Die Bitches! – Grease

So for those who may not know, even though Kendrick and I met outside of work, we kindled our well oiled relationship that later became Halftone Def at a little well know Jacksonville Agency know as The Shepherd Agency. We spent many a days there jammed up in the same cubicle, iMac to iMac making all things graphic and interactive. I have since moved on after 5 years of driving 45 minutes to work everyday to a place a little closer to the beach but Kendrick is still there along with a ton of other great folks making graphic magic everyday. While I was still there, I got to witness the beginning of something truly amazing. Something that every designer dreams of working on and every city dreams of having, a craft brewery with a passion for great beer and an eye for great design. It was there, that the branding distinctively know as BOLD CITY BREWERY was born, mostly on the wings of an amazing copywriter named Jacquie Wojcik.

Bold City Brewery has come along way since those days of Kendrick hand making the wooden tap handles in the comp room with sticker paper and exacto knives. The amazing printed cans you see above may just look like another container to drink delicious beer from but they are a whole lot more than that. They are a vision come to life and a milestone, both logistically and aesthetically. So I want to send out the biggest high five possible to not only to Brian and the Bold City Brewery folks but to Kendrick and the rest of the Shepherd crew for a job well done. I know I speak for the whole city when I say Jacksonville is proud to call you our own and we look forward to much much more to come. Congrats and CHEERS! – TRON

To see more of the amazing work Kendrick has done for BCB, check out his post over on kendrickkidd.com

Grease recently had to opportunity to illustrate a few badges for the nice folks over at ESPN Magazine. The editorial series included a main badge for the Money Issue and several secondary badges specific to each article’s sport theme. Although they didn’t make the cut in the end, Grease really enjoyed the experience and had heaps of fun doing the work. Big thanks to Jason for the opportunity! – TRON

I recently had the opportunity to help out over at REAL Skateboards with a new deck design. I Can’t tell you how much it means to contribute (however small the amount) to an industry that has been a part of my life for so long. Big thanks to Andy & Jim for letting me drool all over it. Looking forward to more rad deck projects in the future and I can’t wait to get my hands on one of these. Skate or Die Bitches! – Grease